Chapter 188 Internal Strife Among Masters? Cashier Master Zhou Overturns Table and Rescues People!
"Who is it?!"
The old chairman suddenly raised his head, his voice distorted with extreme excitement, like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on.
His gaze swept wildly across the faces of the guests dressed in expensive haute couture gowns.
It was as if they wanted to pry out the reclusive master who could write such divine calligraphy in a single second.
Standing to the side, Jiang Ruoyun was biting her lower lip tightly.
Her shoulders were heaving uncontrollably.
The girl was holding back her laughter so hard she was almost injuring herself; she could feel the muscles in her lower abdomen cramping in waves.
How did those distant relatives make such sarcastic remarks just now?
How did they manage to belittle Lin Mo to the point of being utterly degraded?
What now?
They were like wooden stakes whose souls had been instantly drained, their mouths agape, unable to utter a single syllable.
This extreme reversal, this exhilarating feeling of tearing someone's face off and rubbing it repeatedly on the ground.
Jiang Ruoyun felt a hundred times more refreshed than drinking a glass of iced plum juice on a hot summer day.
She finally couldn't hold back.
With a "pfft".
A crisp, light laugh escaped from between her fingers that were covering her mouth.
In the deathly silent hall, the soft laugh sounded particularly abrupt and jarring.
The old chairman suddenly turned his head, his sharp gaze shooting at Jiang Ruoyun like a knife.
Jiang Ruoyun, however, was not afraid at all.
Instead of restraining herself, she gracefully put her hand down.
With her eyes crinkling into crescents, she smiled like a proud little fox who had finally stolen the fattest roast chicken.
She extended a slender, fair finger.
She drew an extremely elegant semicircle in mid-air, then steadily and firmly pointed to the man standing beside her.
It pointed to Lin Mo, who hadn't even raised an eyebrow from beginning to end.
"Here you are."
Jiang Ruoyun's voice was clear and melodious, carrying an undisguised boastfulness and domineering protectiveness.
"You don't need to look around anymore."
"This is the 'country cook' you've been talking about."
The temperature in the entire banquet hall seemed to drop another ten degrees.
The old chairman's body stiffened instantly, as if he had been struck by a high-voltage electric shock, turning into a block of raw iron.
He slowly, inch by inch, turned his stiff neck.
Following Jiang Ruoyun's fair fingers, the gaze finally landed on Lin Mo.
This is a man who is far too young.
In their early twenties.
He was wearing a dark casual suit without any brand logos.
He wasn't wearing an expensive watch or a tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt were casually undone.
He casually put his hands in his pockets.
His deep gaze was calmly fixed on the dazzling Czech crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
The light and shadow refracted by the intricate crystal seemed far more interesting than the table full of rare treasures and the astonished dignitaries in the room.
That sense of relaxation that comes from the very core of your being.
He had that kind of calm composure, like he could calmly finish a bowl of hot soup noodles even if the sky were to fall.
The old chairman's heart skipped a beat.
The old chairman lowered his head and glanced once more at the exquisite and sharp calligraphy on the table.
Then she looked up again and glanced at the excessively young man in front of her.
The word is like its person.
No, this person is even more unfathomable than the words themselves!
"Thump."
A dull thud suddenly erupted in the otherwise quiet hall.
It wasn't a fall.
Instead, his knees buckled.
This nearly 70-year-old master of calligraphy holds absolute sway in the Chinese calligraphy world and is treated as an honored guest by countless dignitaries.
In full view of everyone, he bent his legs and slammed his knees hard against the marble floor tiles.
He didn't care at all whether his specially made, expensive long gown would get dusty.
They also completely abandoned the so-called dignity and respectability of a master.
The old chairman clasped his hands together, raised them high above his head, and leaned deeply forward.
This is the most solemn yet humble apprenticeship ceremony, something that only happened in ancient times!
"master!"
The old chairman's voice was both stern and fervent.
"If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening!"
"I have been studying calligraphy for over sixty years, but I have been stuck at a bottleneck and unable to break through."
"Having seen these words today, I realize there are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people!"
He suddenly raised his head, his cloudy old eyes now filled with a fanatical light that bordered on madness.
"Please accept me as your apprentice!"
"Just give me the nod, and I'll hold a national press conference immediately!"
"I am willing to offer the position of president of the Chinese Calligraphy Association with both hands!"
"I only ask that you, in your spare time, offer me some guidance!"
crazy.
He's completely gone mad.
All the celebrities, dignitaries, business tycoons, and distant relatives of the Jiang family were present.
At this moment, I feel as if my values have been brutally shoved into a shredder and ground into nothingness.
What did they see?
A national-level master in his seventies.
He knelt before a young man in his twenties.
He cried and begged to become an apprentice.
They even wanted to give away the president's seat, which countless people would fight tooth and nail to get, as a gift when they became apprentices.
The uncle who had just been yelling about throwing the clay pot into the kitchen was now ashen-faced.
The wine glass he was holding had tilted at some point.
The crimson liquor dripped down the rim of the glass and onto his custom-made leather shoes, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, without him noticing.
I felt a bone-chilling cold rush from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.
What kind of higher-dimensional being did he just mock?!
Just when everyone's brains were in a state of severe paralysis.
"Bang!!!"
Another loud bang erupted from the direction of the VIP seats.
Master Zhou Yang, who had been sitting there, had been holding back his outburst.
At this moment, I finally reached my breaking point.
This elderly gentleman is also a leading figure in the field of traditional Chinese painting.
He kicked the heavy solid wood armchair in front of him away.
The armchair slid a long way across the floor, knocking over a waiter carrying a champagne tray.
But Zhou Yang had no time to pay attention.
He was like an old dog guarding its food after someone stole its bone.
His eyes were wide open like copper bells, his face was flushed red, and even the beard on his chin was trembling violently.
He strode forward with an agility completely out of character for his age.
They rushed toward the main table.
"Get out of here! All of you, get out of here!"
Zhou Yang shoved aside the several group executives blocking his way without any politeness.
He rushed to Lin Mo like a gust of wind.
He grabbed the old chairman, who was kneeling on the ground, by the collar and dragged him two steps to the side.
Then he stood like a thick wall, completely blocking Lin Mo's way.
"Old Zhou! Don't you have any shame left?!"
Zhou Yang pointed at the old chairman's nose and started cursing, spitting all over his face.
"Don't you care about first come, first served?!"
"You've only seen one of his calligraphy works, and you already want to reap the benefits and become his apprentice?"
Who do you think you are?!
Zhou Yang angrily pounded his chest, making muffled thuds.
His voice was loud enough to penetrate the entire top-floor banquet hall.
"I'd even throw away all my dignity just to become your disciple!"
"I get up at six o'clock every morning!"
"They ran to his little restaurant in that courtyard house!"
"I wiped his tables for a whole month!"
"I served dishes, washed dishes, and even collected his money at the counter for a month!"
Zhou Yang became increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Me, a master of traditional Chinese painting, being ordered around by diners—have I ever complained?"
"I didn't dare ask for a single penny of my salary!"
"If you're going to take on apprentices, you should take me first!"
"You old codger who showed up halfway through the journey, what right do you have to cut in line!"
These words were like a nuclear bomb, even more powerful than the aroma of the wine.
It completely shattered everyone's perceptions.
What?!
This is Master Zhou, whose casual ink paintings can fetch eight-figure prices at auctions.
Surprisingly, it was in this young man's little shop.
I worked as a cashier for a month?!
Serving dishes and washing dishes?!
Not even a penny of salary?!
The aunt, who had just been sitting in a chair paralyzed from a sprained ankle, suddenly felt everything go black.
He almost fainted because he couldn't catch his breath.
She felt the world was too absurd.
What are these people who go to such lengths to curry favor with the powerful and climb the social ladder?
Even the waiters and odd jobs in this run-down shop are national-level masters!
The old chairman was also furious when Zhou Yang grabbed him by the collar.
He slapped Zhou Yang's hand away and jumped up from the ground.
"Bullshit! What's wrong with being a cashier! It's your own fault for being so cheap!"
The old chairman puffed out his beard and glared, retorting without backing down.
"Calligraphy is about sudden enlightenment! It's about serendipitous encounters!"
"Master Lin's words contain profound meaning. Even if I die here today, I will still become his first disciple!"
"You artist, don't meddle here!"
"You dare call me a bastard? I'll fight you to the death today!"
The two are national-level luminaries whose combined age exceeds one hundred and who are revered by thousands.
At this moment, at the 50th birthday banquet of the richest man in the capital.
They were vying for a spot to become an apprentice to a twenty-year-old.
They started pushing and shoving each other and hurling insults at each other in a completely unseemly manner.
You tug at my long robe, I pull at your collar.
The two men spat at each other and cursed, looking exactly like two old men fighting over a spot to play chess at the entrance of an alley.
The scene was in chaos.
The surrounding security guards and dignitaries looked at each other, none daring to step forward to break up the fight.
They were afraid of damaging these two national treasures, whose every fall would make the news.
Lin Mo was at the very center of this raging storm.
He could only sigh helplessly.
He raised his hand and gently rubbed his brow with his long, slender fingers.
Quarrel.
Too noisy.
What he hates most is this kind of messy and troublesome scene.
If he had known these old men were this crazy, he shouldn't have casually used that calligraphy as wrapping paper to put wine jars before leaving home today.
He just wants to leave this noisy world of fame and fortune right now.
Back in that quiet alley.
Push open the old, weathered wooden door of the courtyard house.
Listen to the subtle sound of snowflakes falling on the blue bricks in winter.
Smell the fresh pine shavings you just dug out.
There should still be a pot of hot soup simmering on the stove, exuding a rich, homey atmosphere.
That's the kind of comfortable life people should have.
Jiang Ruoyun looked at Lin Mo's expression, which seemed utterly hopeless and ready to run away at any moment.
His lips couldn't help but curl upwards.
She knew the man was annoyed.
She quietly took a small step forward, pressing most of her body tightly against Lin Mo's arm.
She skillfully wrapped her arms around his.
Even in this frenzied atmosphere, she did not forget to assert her absolute dominance.
She tilted her head slightly, her beautiful peach blossom eyes reflecting the dazzling lights of the hall, and filled with nothing but him.
"Just bear with it."
Jiang Ruoyun lowered her voice and spoke in a coquettish tone that only the two of them could hear.
Her voice was as soft and sweet as a freshly made cloud cake.
"Once this is all over, I'll come home and give you a shoulder massage myself."
Lin Mo glanced down at her.
A hint of helpless indulgence flashed in those eyes that were originally calm as still water.
He grasped the girl's slightly cool fingers with his other hand and pulled her closer to him.
That's it.
Just when everyone's attention was completely drawn to these two titans of the fight.
Everyone has gone mad.
He was the only one who was eerily quiet.
Jiang Jianguo, the richest man in Beijing, sat in the main seat of the grand master's chair.
He didn't look at the two masters who were wrestling.
He didn't even look at the relatives around him whose values had collapsed and who were trembling with fear.
His eyes, which usually gleamed with shrewdness and calculation.
At this moment, he was staring blankly at the jar of fragrant flower wine on the table.
He stared intently at the calligraphy work in the "Slender Gold" style that had made the master kneel down.
His brain was frantically sounding alarms.
Wine is priceless.
The calligraphy is a unique masterpiece.
Now, two crazy old men are trying to get close to his prospective son-in-law.
There was even a wine connoisseur nearby who wanted to trade his courtyard house in the Second Ring Road for his wine.
Someone is trying to steal Jiang Jianguo's treasure!
Someone is trying to steal Jiang Jianguo's son-in-law!
Jiang Jianguo remained silent for a full three seconds.
Three seconds later.
He suddenly unleashed an agility that surpassed human limits!